The Chic Home

Serving up an open space for entertaining

Sufficient storage spaces in the dining and kitchen areas ensure that the living room remains free of storage nooks.
Sufficient storage spaces in the dining and kitchen areas ensure that the living room remains free of storage nooks. PHOTOS: VEE CHIN; ART DIRECTION: KRISTY QUAH
The original swing door of the master bathroom has been replaced with a sliding one to better utilise the space in the room.
The original swing door of the master bathroom has been replaced with a sliding one to better utilise the space in the room. PHOTOS: VEE CHIN; ART DIRECTION: KRISTY QUAH
A suspended shoe cabinet at the entrance adds visual appeal.
A suspended shoe cabinet at the entrance adds visual appeal. PHOTOS: VEE CHIN; ART DIRECTION: KRISTY QUAH

When the home owner bought this apartment, she instinctively knew that she wanted an open-concept kitchen and a concealed household shelter door.

She also wanted to have the same "mood and style" as her previous home, which was designed by Distinct Identity.

Having established a good rapport with the team, she entrusted the project to it once again.

For Ms Ambika Chowdhry, interior design executive at the home-grown design firm, the challenge was in coming up with a design that would make the 1,300 sq ft three-bedroom condominium in Kembangan feel as spacious and luxurious as the 3,000 sq ft landed home the family had moved from.

"Besides removing the kitchen walls and integrating the space with the dining area to create an open living concept, the interior has been designed in a modern luxe style with clean lines and a cosy feel," says Ms Chowdhry.

The family loves to host, so the main living, dining and kitchen areas have been designed with this in mind.

The home owner, an accountant who shares the home with her husband and mother-in-law, says: "In our previous home, we had a wet and dry kitchen and we spent most of our time at the dining table in the dry kitchen, either working from home or catching up on each other's day."

They wanted something similar in their new abode.

With the existing kitchen walls removed, the kitchen counter and dining table form a linear element that extends across both spaces.

Dekton is used on the kitchen counter and backsplash and the material follows through to the custom-made dining table, establishing a continuity that ties the two spaces together. Full-height cabinets behind the dining area provide storage space, conceals the door to the shelter and serves as a feature wall.

One of the challenges in designing the kitchen and dining areas is the structural column right in the middle of the two spaces.

Ms Chowdhry says: "I wanted the column to stand out on its own, which was why I opted for a raw concrete finish to add a different texture to the space and give it more character."

The clean lines of the master bedroom are consistent with the rest of the interior. Ms Chowdhry reconfigured the layout such that the bed and headboard are against the floor-to-ceiling window. This arrangement takes advantage of the length of the room and accommodates a king-size bed and bedside tables.

The home owner says: "It gives an interesting twist to the room and provides me with more storage space, as well as a clean wall for the television set and console."

After eight weeks of renovation that cost around $100,000, the family moved in just before Chinese New Year last year.

The home owner is full of praise for Ms Chowdhry: "She understood my tastes and preferences well and was able to incorporate my ideas and fit our lifestyle into the design."

For Ms Chowdhry, the project not only addressed the client's brief, but also achieved the aesthetics that the family wanted while "keeping the design practical and functional for the home owners".

• This article first appeared in the June 2020 issue of Home & Decor, which is published by SPH Magazines.

• Get the July and latest issue of Home & Decor now at all newsstands or download the digital edition of Home & Decor from the App Store, Magzter or Google Play. Also, see more inspiring homes at www.homeanddecor.com.sg

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 25, 2020, with the headline Serving up an open space for entertaining. Subscribe